The Houston Texans are coming into Buffalo as a fine tuned machine on offense.  If it is indeed windy in Buffalo then the Texans will keep the passing game to the short stuff and run the ball with Steve Slaton.  Slaton is not having a good season but the Bills’ D has given up 172.4 yards rushing per game and 5.2 yards per carry so he should have his best game of the year.  With Andre Johnson gimpy for this game if he plays, look for Matt Schaub to focus on getting the football to Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter and Steve Slaton out of the backfield.  Schaub had better be careful though as the Bills have 13 interceptions already this season.

The Bills will likely come out running the ball with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson in an attempt to hog the football.  The Texans are allowing 115.6 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so the Bills should have some success on the ground.  While Ryan Fitzpatrick has been getting the ball to Lee Evans he is far from perfect hitting only 44.7% of his passes this season.  If it is windy in Buffalo I just don’t see the Bills putting the ball up much as Fitzgerald’s arm is very weak.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 20, BILLS 17

The Texans have been very happy with TE Owen Daniels this season.  He has caught 39 passes for 497 yards (12.7 avg) with 5 TD grabs this season so far.  He will be even more important with Andre Johnson know gimpy with a injury.  The scary thing about this week’s game is that safeties generally cover the TE and  the safeties on the Bills have a combined 9 interceptions already this year.  Look for Daniels push for the Pro Bowl this season if he continues to play at this pace.  He leads the Texans in receptions, he’s second in yards and he has the most TD receptions on the team so far this season.  He is turning into Matt Schaub’s go to man when things start to break down and he will be a very busy guy for that reason.

22-year old linebacker Brian Cushing has been dominating as a rookie this season.  Cushing has played in 7 games this season and he has made 56 tackles, has 1/2 a sack, 4 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 6 passes defensed and he has 1 interception.  Cushing is proving to be a outstanding pick last April for the Texans as he was picked in the first round out of USC.  The Texans need Cushing to stay healthy and to keep up the good work.

The Houston Texans (4-3) took down the San Francisco 49ers (3-3) Sunday, but nearly blew a 21-0 halftime lead.  Matt Schaub and the Texans offense looked very sharp in the first half, getting three touchdowns.  They did not come out with the same aggressiveness in the second half though, and it almost cost them the game.  The Texans defense did a great job in the first half, holding the 49ers starting quarterback Shaun Hill to 45 yards on 6/11 passes.  Mario Williams and the Texans’ front line did a good job pressuring Hill.  Williams got his third sack of the year on the 49ers first play.  Hill did not look good at all for the 49ers, so they decided to make a change for the second half.  They started Alex Smith after the break, and Smith was able to slice and dice through the Texans’ pass coverage.  Smith brought the 49ers back in the game and had three touchdowns on 206 passing yards and 15/22 attempts.  The Texans’ defense did enough to hold off Smith and 49er’s comeback, as Eugene Wilson intercepted a 4th down desperation pass from Smith late in the game to seal the Texans’ victory.

Schaub had a good game for the Texans, getting two touchdown passes and 264 yards on 20/30 pass attempts.  Both of his touchdown passes came in the first half though, and the Texans turned what should have been a blowout into a very close game.  The only points the Texans got in the second half was a 50-yard Kris Brown FG.  Steve Slaton finished the game with a touchdown and 67 yards on 15 carries (4.5 avg).  Although the Texans got the win, they should be concerned with their lack of ability to hold a lead. They are on the road against the Buffalo Bills next game.

The Houston Texans (3-3) are at home Sunday taking on the San Francisco 49ers (3-2).  The 49ers are coming off a big 45-10 loss to Atlanta, and have lost two of their last three.  They have been without their star running back Frank Gore though, and he will be returning from an ankle injury this week.  The last time Gore was healthy he ran for 207 yards, so the Texans defense will need to be ready to stop the run like they were last week.  They did a great job limiting the NFL’s leading rusher at the time, Cedric Benson.  Benson only got 44 yards on 16 carries (2.75 avg).  The Texans are still giving up an average of 125 rushing yards per game, so Frank Gore may do some damage in this contest.  They also need to be aware of Shaun Hill scrambling since the 49ers’ quarterback rushed for 53 yards last week.

The Texans offense should be able to put some points on the board against this 49ers’ defense.  After a great start to the season, the 49ers defense has slowed down a bit and are prone to giving up some big plays.  Matt Schaub should look to attack them deep since he has found a lot of success doing that lately.  Running back Steve Slaton needs to make sure he holds on to the ball.  He could be considered a good running back if were not for all his fumbles.  He has five already this season and eight in his short two year career.  The Texans coaching staff said stopping Slaton’s fumbles have been a point of emphasis in practice this week, so we will see if it pays off.  I really like the Texans’ passing game and although this will probably be a close game, I think the Texans will win by a touchdown.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Houston Texans 31, San Francisco 49ers 24